SER and ESTAR

Both verbs mean “to be.” But before we discuss the difference, let’s review the conjugations: ser estar soy somos estoy estamos eres sois estás estáis es son está están

“Estar” has three main uses: with the PROGRESSIVE You’ll learn how to form the progressive in chapter 5; for now, you just need to know that it’s like the English “is reading, is listening, is laughing,” etc. The Spanish equivalent of “-ing” is “-ando” for “-ar” verbs and “-iendo” for –er and –ir verbs. So whenever you see a verb ending in “-ando” or “-iendo,” you know that it’s like “-ing” in English and needs ESTAR with it to say “is talking,” etc. Juan está hablando. Juan is talking to show LOCATION: Juan está en clase. with ADJECTIVES to show CONDITION: Juan está enfermo (sick).

“Ser” has a lot of uses: to show origin: Juan es de Colombia. with a predicate noun: Juan es estudiante. to tell time: Son las dos y media. to show possession: El libro es de Juan. to show intention: El libro es para Juan. to show composition: La silla es de plástico. with an adjective to show characteristic: Juan es alto.

However, now that you’ve looked at the many uses of “ser”—and there may be more—you should know that the easiest thing to do is decide whether or not “estar” is required. Juan _____ mi amigo. Remember, “estar” has only three uses: progressive, location, adjective/condition. So ask yourself the following about “Juan _____ mi amigo”: Are we using the verb to make the progressive? – No. Are we using the verb to show location? – No. Is there an adjective that shows condition? – No. If you’d answered “yes” to any of those questions, you would use “está” in the blank. But because you answered “no” to all three, you need “es” in the blank.

OK, there IS a hard part to all this OK, there IS a hard part to all this. Number 3 with “estar” is “with adjectives to show condition”; number 7 with “ser” is “with adjectives to show characteristic.” What’s the difference between “condition” and “characteristic”?

a quality that you normally associate with a person/thing CHARACTERISTIC: a quality that you normally associate with a person/thing Juan is tall. Juan es alto Juan is fat. Juan es gordo. Juan is rich. Juan es rico Juan is young. Juan es joven. The door is green. La puerta es verde. The door is big. La puerta es grande. The door is ugly. La puerta es fea.

the state of being of a person/thing CONDITION: the state of being of a person/thing Juan is sick. Juan está enfermo. Juan is tired. Juan está cansado. Juan is sad. Juan está triste. Juan is bored. Juan está aburrido. Juan is busy. Juan está ocupado. The door is open. La puerta está abierta. The door is broken. La puerta está rota. The door is dirty. La puerta está sucia.

WHAT you’re describing is important WHAT you’re describing is important. You can’t just say “Green is a characteristic, so I use ‘es’ with it.” Consider: Lettuce is green. La lechuga es verde. Lettuce is supposed to be green, so that’s a characteristic. BUT: The meat is green. La carne está verde. Meat is not supposed to be green, so that’s a condition.

Click here to go to a practice exercise on ONLY the characteristic/condition contrast of ser/estar.

“Is it a characteristic or a condition “Is it a characteristic or a condition?” is definitely the trickiest part of ser/estar. But it’s not the ONLY part. Remember, there are lots of other times you need to decide if you need ser or estar. Don’t look at a sentence like Juan _______ en clase. and ask yourself “Is it a characteristic or condition?” because “en clase” is NOT an adjective. You only ask yourself the question “characteristic or condition” IF YOU HAVE AN ADJECTIVE.

“Tall” comes after the verb and describes Juan. Another tricky aspect: do you know what predicate adjectives are? A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows the verb and describes the subject: Juan is tall. “Tall” comes after the verb and describes Juan. A predicate noun is a noun that follows the verb and renames the subject: Juan is a student. “Student” comes after the verb and renames (is the same person as) Juan.

So what do we have here? Juan is a sad man. Do we have a predicate adjective? No. “Sad” does not describe “Juan.” “Sad” describes “man.” “Man” is a predicate noun. It renames “Juan.” “Sad” is not a predicate adjective because it does not describe the subject; it describes the predicate noun. Juan es un hombre triste. Juan is a sad man. Juan es un hombre. Juan is a man. Juan está triste. Juan is sad. In the first two sentences, you have a predicate noun. In the second, you have a predicate adjective. THERE you have to ask yourself, “This adjective that’s describing the SUBJECT—is it showing a characteristic or a condition of the SUBJECT?”

To sum up: To decide whether you need ser or estar, ask yourself these three questions: 1. Is it showing location? 2. Is this the progressive? 3. Is there a predicate adjective? If the answer to all three is “no,” you have ser. If the answer to 1 or 2 is “yes,” you have estar. If the answer to 3 is “yes,” ask yourself, “Is the predicate adjective telling me a characteristic of the subject or a condition of the subject?”

! ! ! ! Remember to watch out for those predicate nouns ! And don’t try to decide if it’s a characteristic or condition UNLESS it’s an ADJECTIVE!!! ! ! ! ! ! !

Click here to go to a brief practice (not your homework).

Click here to go to your homework.